Here is a calendar of upcoming events, up and down the country. Some are organized by us, others by like-minded organizations and groups.
Operation Entebbe after 40 Years: A personal recollection
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
In 1976, when an Air France place was hijacked and rerouted to Entebbe, Rami was the Operations Officer of the unit, under the command of Yoni Netanyahu.
In his capacity as Operations Officer, he was in involved throughout the week, preparing the unit for the Operation.
Among other things, he coordinated with Dan Shomron, the Commander of the Operation, and the Israeli Air Force.
Within the Operation, Rami was part of the 33 officers and soldiers who freed the hostages at the Entebbe terminal. He arrived with the first Hercules that landed in the airport, and was in the car that was driving behind the famous Mercedes.
After Yoni Netanyahu was injured, he drove him to the Hercules, where a team of medical professionals were waiting, but unfortunately they could not save Yoni’s life.
Later, Rami was the commander who led the rescued hostages to the Hercules.
Upon returning to Israel, Rami continued to serve in the unit, and was a Special Operations Commander until 1980.
After he was released from active duty, he helped establish the reserves unit.
Rami Sherman was born on 4 April 1953. His parents were Holocaust survivors and came to Israel in 1945.
Rami grew up on Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, which is in the north of the country and was on the Syrian border until the Six Day War in 1967. He was educated in the Kibbutz system.
In 1972, Rami enlisted in the army and was accepted into an elite special forces unit, which today is allowed to be named – Sayeret Matkal (the Chief of Staff’s Special Forces). He successfully completed the combat soldier course and was sent to Officers’ School in order to return and receive command of a squad within the unit.
At age 50, he was released from doing reserve service.
Rami is married, has two daughters and grandfather to five grandchildren.
In 1990, Rami finished his studies in physiotherapy at the University of Tel Aviv, and since that time he has worked as a physiotherapist in various positions, including, among other things, as a physiotherapist for the Israeli Olympic team.
In 1993, Rami and his family moved to Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, where they still live today.
An unsettling vision of military service pervading everyday Israeli life, Samuel Maoz’s (Lebanon) visceral and startlingly unpredictable film centres on a Tel Aviv couple coping with the death of their son, a soldier stationed in the middle of nowhere.
“Maazo’s marvelous, harrowing drama about death and life in Israel marches boldly through the no-man’s-land between realism and surrealism. It’s prize collection of paradoxes, combining an intimate, eviscerating depiction of parental grief ove ra serviceman’s death with an empathic, absurdist rendering of young Israeli Defence Force soldiers manning a remote and otherworldly roadblock…
Foxtrot carries the excitement and punch of a fearless writer-director tackling contemporary material with a bracing cocktail of potent traditional drama, wild black comedy, and serrated style. [It all] comes together as a complex plea for honesty, openness, frankness, and forgiveness. The movie is also, incidentally, a spectacularly effective antiwar film, focusing on the randomness and cruelty of life lived on military roads… Its final image resters like a blow to the chest. It’s a shot that should be seen around the world.” — Michael Sragow, Film Comment
“[Foxtrot] contains some of themost striking, memorable imagery of the year… It’s a film designed tomove you with its depiction of senseless tragedy but also to spark that part of your thinking process that only moviemaking can tap… This multitalented filmmaker has taken that darkness and turned it into something unforgettable for everyone who sees it.” — Brian Tallerico, RobertEbert.com
Awards: Grand Jury Price, Venice Film Festival 2017
Hebrew, Arabic and German, with English subtitles; 113 minutes.
An unsettling vision of military service pervading everyday Israeli life, Samuel Maoz’s (Lebanon) visceral and startlingly unpredictable film centres on a Tel Aviv couple coping with the death of their son, a soldier stationed in the middle of nowhere.
“Maazo’s marvelous, harrowing drama about death and life in Israel marches boldly through the no-man’s-land between realism and surrealism. It’s prize collection of paradoxes, combining an intimate, eviscerating depiction of parental grief ove ra serviceman’s death with an empathic, absurdist rendering of young Israeli Defence Force soldiers manning a remote and otherworldly roadblock…
Foxtrot carries the excitement and punch of a fearless writer-director tackling contemporary material with a bracing cocktail of potent traditional drama, wild black comedy, and serrated style. [It all] comes together as a complex plea for honesty, openness, frankness, and forgiveness. The movie is also, incidentally, a spectacularly effective antiwar film, focusing on the randomness and cruelty of life lived on military roads… Its final image resters like a blow to the chest. It’s a shot that should be seen around the world.” — Michael Sragow, Film Comment
“[Foxtrot] contains some of themost striking, memorable imagery of the year… It’s a film designed tomove you with its depiction of senseless tragedy but also to spark that part of your thinking process that only moviemaking can tap… This multitalented filmmaker has taken that darkness and turned it into something unforgettable for everyone who sees it.” — Brian Tallerico, RobertEbert.com
Awards: Grand Jury Price, Venice Film Festival 2017
Hebrew, Arabic and German, with English subtitles; 113 minutes.
BY PUBLIC DEMAND: EXTRA SESSION
The Sunday session was sold out in a week. Due to the high number of requests , we have organized an extra session for Saturday evening.
Operation Entebbe after 40 Years: A personal recollection
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
In 1976, when an Air France place was hijacked and rerouted to Entebbe, Rami was the Operations Officer of the unit, under the command of Yoni Netanyahu.
In his capacity as Operations Officer, he was in involved throughout the week, preparing the unit for the Operation.
Among other things, he coordinated with Dan Shomron, the Commander of the Operation, and the Israeli Air Force.
Within the Operation, Rami was part of the 33 officers and soldiers who freed the hostages at the Entebbe terminal. He arrived with the first Hercules that landed in the airport, and was in the car that was driving behind the famous Mercedes.
After Yoni Netanyahu was injured, he drove him to the Hercules, where a team of medical professionals were waiting, but unfortunately they could not save Yoni’s life.
Later, Rami was the commander who led the rescued hostages to the Hercules.
Upon returning to Israel, Rami continued to serve in the unit, and was a Special Operations Commander until 1980.
After he was released from active duty, he helped establish the reserves unit.
Rami Sherman was born on 4 April 1953. His parents were Holocaust survivors and came to Israel in 1945.
Rami grew up on Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, which is in the north of the country and was on the Syrian border until the Six Day War in 1967. He was educated in the Kibbutz system.
In 1972, Rami enlisted in the army and was accepted into an elite special forces unit, which today is allowed to be named – Sayeret Matkal (the Chief of Staff’s Special Forces). He successfully completed the combat soldier course and was sent to Officers’ School in order to return and receive command of a squad within the unit.
At age 50, he was released from doing reserve service.
Rami is married, has two daughters and grandfather to five grandchildren.
In 1990, Rami finished his studies in physiotherapy at the University of Tel Aviv, and since that time he has worked as a physiotherapist in various positions, including, among other things, as a physiotherapist for the Israeli Olympic team.
In 1993, Rami and his family moved to Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, where they still live today.
Door sales but there are only 55 seats.
Operation Entebbe after 40 Years: A personal recollection
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
In 1976, when an Air France place was hijacked and rerouted to Entebbe, Rami was the Operations Officer of the unit, under the command of Yoni Netanyahu.
In his capacity as Operations Officer, he was in involved throughout the week, preparing the unit for the Operation.
Among other things, he coordinated with Dan Shomron, the Commander of the Operation, and the Israeli Air Force.
Within the Operation, Rami was part of the 33 officers and soldiers who freed the hostages at the Entebbe terminal. He arrived with the first Hercules that landed in the airport, and was in the car that was driving behind the famous Mercedes.
After Yoni Netanyahu was injured, he drove him to the Hercules, where a team of medical professionals were waiting, but unfortunately they could not save Yoni’s life.
Later, Rami was the commander who led the rescued hostages to the Hercules.
Upon returning to Israel, Rami continued to serve in the unit, and was a Special Operations Commander until 1980.
After he was released from active duty, he helped establish the reserves unit.
Rami Sherman was born on 4 April 1953. His parents were Holocaust survivors and came to Israel in 1945.
Rami grew up on Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, which is in the north of the country and was on the Syrian border until the Six Day War in 1967. He was educated in the Kibbutz system.
In 1972, Rami enlisted in the army and was accepted into an elite special forces unit, which today is allowed to be named – Sayeret Matkal (the Chief of Staff’s Special Forces). He successfully completed the combat soldier course and was sent to Officers’ School in order to return and receive command of a squad within the unit.
At age 50, he was released from doing reserve service.
Rami is married, has two daughters and grandfather to five grandchildren.
In 1990, Rami finished his studies in physiotherapy at the University of Tel Aviv, and since that time he has worked as a physiotherapist in various positions, including, among other things, as a physiotherapist for the Israeli Olympic team.
In 1993, Rami and his family moved to Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, where they still live today.
RSVP – Limited Seating. Book ahead. SOLD OUT
The Failure of the
UN and International Law in Syria:
A Classical Realist Perspective
Speaker: Jeremy Moses
Date: Monday 13 August 2018
Time: 5pm for 5:30pm
Venue: South Arts Lecture Theatre A4
It’s that time of the year. If you would like to nominate another member for the committee, please send your nomination to our secretary, Rebecca (contact details below).
After the AGM we will be showing a hilarious episode of “Yes Prime Minister”, the episode when PM Jim Hacker discovers what his Ministry of Foreign Affairs really thinks about Israel.
Please bring a plate of finger food. Of course, please exclude any pork and seafood products.
CHRISTCHURCH:
“ASK ME ANYTHING” (AMA) SESSION
WITH
RABBI ARIEL TAL
RABBI OF THE WELLINGTON JEWISH COMMUNITY
19 SEPTEMBER 2019
Following the massacres, it’s clear that there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of minorities in our community. With that lack comes uncertainty, anxiety and even fear. Unfortunately we humans often respond with prejudice and intolerance. One of those minorities is the Jewish community and those who adhere to Judaism.
We are honoured to host Rabbi Ariel Tal to join us for an “Ask Me Anything” session where he will take questions from the floor.
Rabbi Ariel Tal is an experienced educator, Rabbi and marketing expert, serving in positions in both North America and Israel. Rabbi Tal has a education degree from Ohalo College in the Golan Heights, Israel, Rabbinical Semicha from Israel Chief Rabbinate, and is a Personal Coach through Da’at U’Tevuna School in Rechovot, Israel. He has taught at the Netivot HaTorah Day School in Toronto, Kibbutz Lavi Primary School and the educational organisation Livnot U’Lehibanot.
With such wide experiences, Ariel is well able to answer questions on Judaism, Jewish life in Israel, the Diaspora and New Zealand.
Ever wondered what Judaism stood for? What it says about the meaning of life? What Judaism says about how the world ends?
A Jewish perspective on the Middle East Conflict and Palestinian Arab relations? What Jews outside of Israel think of the Middle Eastern situation?
What impression New Zealanders have made on Ariel and his family? His thoughts on New Zealand culture and what its like to live in Wellington?
That’s just a few questions you could ask him.
A rare opportunity to publicly quiz a Jewish Rabbi in person.
Where: Sumner Community Centre, 14-16 Wakefield Avenue, Sumner, Christchurch.
When: 7.30pm, Thursday, September 19.
Admission: A plate of finger food. Please avoid pork and seafood products. A collection will be taken to help defray expenses.
Folks
The NZ Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) has invited us to their event:
Title: Who lives behind the Gaza blockade, and what can Aotearoa NZ (and we) do?
Speaker: Marilyn Garson
Date: Tuesday, Feb 25
Time: 5.30p-6.30p
Venue: South Arts Lecture Theatre A6, University of Canterbury Campus
Abstract: Marilyn Garson worked for 18 years with excluded communities affected by war. She has established locally owned social enterprises with Cambodians with disabilities, Afghan women and others.
In 2011, she was invited to move to the Gaza Strip. As the economic director of a large NGO programme, she led an ambitious Gazan team. In 2013, she became a consultant to the office of UNRWA’s then-Gaza director. They set about launching the GGateway enterprise to create technology-related jobs behind the Gaza blockade. Marilyn volunteered to stay in Gaza as part of the UN emergency response team that prepared to shelter 35,000 displaced Gazans – but 293,000 people needed shelter through 50 days of bombardment.
Marilyn recently published Still Lives – a memoir of Gaza, chronicling four years of work (2011 – 2015), and the lives being lived behind the Gaza blockade.
As a Jew, Marilyn has skin on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. She discusses the conflict, and NZ’s aid policy, in the unifying language of law and human rights.
She asks, who really lives behind the Gaza blockade, and what can we do about it?
Shalom
NZ Friends of Israel Assoc Inc
Box 37 363
Halswell
Christchurch
New Zealand 8245
+64 (27) 433 9745
contact@nzfoi.org
www.nzfoi.org